Tree Heritage, North Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 8EQ

Application No 3/20/1932/FUL

The redevelopment of the site including demolition of existing buildings and erection of 5 dwellings, associated parking and altered access, and provision of informal open space at Tree Heritage, North Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 8EQ.

While CPRE Hertfordshire accept that this site constitutes previously developed land and that paragraph 145(g) of the National Planning Policy Framework applies, we have concerns regarding aspects of this application.

It is to be welcomed that the bulk of the site will revert to meadow along the bank of the River Beane. However, there is no clear statement of how this land will be managed to the benefit of both the residents and the river ecology.

As the Ecological Impact Assessment says, it is important that an ecology management plan is in place. The Design and Access Statement makes vague reference to ‘communal land’, but no management plan is presented and it is unlikely that the residents would have the ability to maintain the substantial area involved. Consequently, before determining the application, the Council should ascertain how this land will be managed and who will be responsible for it and, should the Council be minded to approve, a condition applied which will ensure the future maintenance of the land.

It would be to the benefit of the community if public access to the land was available and that such access was linked to the existing footpath network along the Beane and Waterford Marsh.